Fort Worth's top tacos head east with new restaurant spinoff in Dallas

Fort Worth's top tacos head east with new restaurant spinoff in Dallas

Dallas is about to get an exciting new gourmet taco offering from Fort Worth. Taco Heads, the award-winning taco concept from chef Sarah Castillo, is opening a location on Dallas' Henderson Avenue, in the space that was once Park, the Gin Mill, and most recently a short-lived place called Lekka.

Castillo says that they were happy to find such a central address on buzzy Henderson Avenue and that they hope to be up and running by June.

She first launched Taco Heads as a food truck in 2010, selling tacos out of a trailer in the West 7th area of Fort Worth. Her unique selling points included her late-night hours and her willingness to serve breakfast tacos at night.

She quickly earned acclaim for her gourmet take, including a spot on Texas Monthly's list of "top 10 tacos to eat before you die."

Taco Heads was also one of the 10 nominees for best restaurant in CultureMap's 2017 Tastemaker awards, and Castillo was one of the 10 nominees for best chef.

After forming a partnership with Jacob Watson, the duo opened their first brick and mortar location on Montgomery Street in Fort Worth's Cultural District. Their taco lineup includes a fine brisket taco and regular specials that reflect seasonal ingredients such as a recently-featured bourbon black bean taco with spinach, grilled calabaza, bell peppers, and mushrooms.

Opening a location in Dallas was always part of the plan, she says.

"We knew our next step would be Dallas," she says. "I didn't want to do another Taco Heads in Fort Worth - we might do a different concept but we didn't want to do two Taco Heads, and Dallas is the place that made most sense."

The Dallas location, at 1921 Henderson Ave., has a traditional space in front and another area in back. "We'll do a private dining area there, but that's down the road," she says. "It'll be tacos up front."